Chapter 376 - 311: Dragon Jade

Galos focused his mind, a layer of hazy face armor covering his face, as the "Star Veil" quietly activated.

In this state, his perception and insight were elevated to an unprecedented peak, enabling him to, in a near-introspective manner, penetrate the barrier of Dragon Scales and flesh, meticulously examining the changes brought by his dormant evolution.

Under this transcendent insight, Galos saw clearly.

Aside from the pulsating Energy Heart in his right chest cavity.

Around the biologically beating heart in his left chest cavity, and throughout his body, numerous additional primary blood vessels had emerged.

These newly formed veins were akin to a complex energy network, hundreds of times more intricate and dense than before his evolution.

They tightly connected the heart with every inch of muscle, every bone, and even every organ in the body.

Furthermore, the changes extended far beyond just the heart and vascular system.

All his internal organs—the resilient Dragon lungs, the powerful liver, the stomach sac for digestion, the efficient kidneys...all underwent significant enhancement and remodeling.

Their structures became denser, their functional efficiency multiplied, and their surfaces and interiors were similarly wrapped and entwined with newly formed primary blood vessels exceeding normal levels.

A strong sense, derived from his bloodline instinct, told him: even without relying on any alchemy tools, he could now independently unleash the Frenzy state just by relying on this transformed bodily structure.

And.

This amplification, originating from the essence of life, would far surpass the past when he relied on external aids, and would continue to grow as Galos himself became stronger, forming the core part of his power system.

"Should I try it now?"

The tempting thought had just arisen when Galos immediately suppressed it, shaking his head slightly.

He clearly sensed that his body was still in an extremely depleted state, far from being the best time to explore the new Frenzy form.

Moreover, compared to the changes in his body structure, the unknown brought by the newly formed Energy Heart.

It excited him even more.

"What kind of power does this Energy Heart possess?"

Galos focused his consciousness on his right chest cavity.

Under the extraordinary insight of the Star Veil, the shape of the Energy Heart was crystal clear.

It was not in a semi-real, semi-illusory form but had already become fully substantial, exhibiting a deep, hard crystalline texture as if it condensed the essence of life.

Calling it a heart wasn’t entirely accurate.

It was more like a perfectly embedded Energy Crystal Core in the chest cavity.

The adaptability of evolution possessed a strong unpredictability, and its appearance was beyond Galos’ initial expectations.

He had thought that mastering the Frenzy state stably this time would be a huge success, not expecting such a pleasant surprise.

He pondered for a few seconds, deciding to give this Energy Core a formal name.

"Crystal Core? Dragon Crystal?"

"Those names sound like the cheap Demon Cores dug out from the brains of third-rate magical beasts in ancient Western fantasy novels, too mediocre."

The Red Iron Dragon was not satisfied, shaking his head.

After a moment of thought, he recalled the general structural outline of this thing before the evolution and referenced a certain distant memory from a game setting, finally coming up with an idea.

"I’ve decided!"

"I’ll call it—’Dragon Jade’!"

The energy contained within the Dragon Jade was exceptionally pure and rich, but what specific effect it could achieve, Galos still didn’t know.

He intended to continue his in-depth research, but the intense sense of depletion within his body surged like a tide, becoming increasingly fierce.

The extreme weakness made him feel dizzy, his vision going black, as if he returned to the heavily injured state after the bloody battle with the Dragon Hunting Squad.

"Apart from the Dragon Jade, my body is too weak, I must immediately replenish my energy."

Galos retracted his wings, slowly lowering his altitude, and returned to the ground of Red Maple Valley.

As soon as he landed, the intense dizziness struck again, and the ultimate weakness from inside out almost made him want to lie directly on the ground.

"Here, the food I prepared for you in advance."

Seeing Galos’ condition so poor, Red Silver Dragon Deborah couldn’t spare time to ask for details, immediately brandishing her Dragon Claw, quickly unearthing a cellar.

Inside were bodies of large ferocious beasts and monsters, perfectly preserved by ice.

These were high-energy blood food that Deborah had personally hunted and carefully stored during Galos’ dormancy.

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

Deep in his right chest cavity, the Energy Crystal Core newly named Dragon Jade suddenly lit up without warning.

Buzz—!

A tangible and overwhelming brilliance exploded from the core of the Dragon Jade.

It was so intense and strong that it penetrated through Galos’ resilient bones, thick muscles, and the heavy metal Scale Armor covering his entire body.

Under the astonished gazes of Deborah and the curious Elf Dragon Vera.

The area of Galos’ right chest cavity seemed as if it suddenly had a miniature, rising sun inlaid, with its dazzling glory illuminating the surroundings transparently.

Then.

A majestic, deep, yet completely non-violent stream of life energy flowed out from the Dragon Jade!

It rushed without hindrance through every limb and bone of Galos, washing over every dry vein, soaking every muscle on the brink of exhaustion!

Therefore!

Under the suddenly widened Dragon Eyes filled with disbelief of the Red Silver Dragon and Elf Dragon, the Red Iron Dragon, whose muscles were withered and skin clung tightly to protruding bones like a dried specimen just a moment ago, his enormous body, like a withered tree in which the fountain of life had been injected, or a balloon being frantically inflated by an invisible pump, started swelling and filling rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, inch by inch.

The withered muscle fibers re-tensed, filled with strength.

The skin clinging to the bones was stretched open by the newly formed, elastic, and resilient muscular body.

In just a few breaths.

Galos went from a frail, skeletal state that seemed as if it would fall apart any moment, to a robust form comparable to that of a same-sized Red Dragon.

Though it was still slightly inferior to his peak physique before his sleep, honed through countless trials.

Yet at this moment, even as he stood silently on the ground, the natural oppressive aura of his enormous body was enough to cause the surrounding air to stagnate.

Simultaneously.

As his body recovered, the Dragon Jade within his chest cavity, once shining like a small sun, quickly dimmed.

Galos stretched his body in surprise, feeling the surge of power and vitality returning within him, lost in thought.

Seconds later, he raised a forepaw, gently stroking his solid chest, feeling the Dragon Jade within that had already become silent, harboring a shocking guess in his heart. Without hesitation, he started feasting on the frozen blood food in the cellar.

Crunch! Crunch!

With a mouth full of grisly sharp teeth, the Giant Dragon easily tore, crunched, and swallowed the beast meat along with the unfrozen ice.

Although far less delicious than carefully prepared food, the Dragon’s natural taste buds did not reject this raw blood meal, having a wild flavor of its own. However, despite ingesting a huge quantity of food, Galos felt no satiety, and his freshly restored body did not grow stronger.

Instead, all the energy was efficiently absorbed and poured madly toward the Dragon Jade in his chest, as if there was a bottomless space within it desperately waiting to be filled.

"Not enough, far from enough. I need to return to the Dragon Valley immediately."

The Red Iron Dragon abruptly flapped its wings, its massive body soared straight into the sky shrouded by wind and snow.

The Red Silver Dragon and the Elf Dragon exchanged a glance and spread their wings without hesitation, following closely behind.

The three Dragon Shadows tore through the endless snowstorm, soaring rapidly towards the Dragon Valley.

"Hmm?"

During the flight, Galos’s gaze penetrated the heavy snow curtain, scanning the ground below, and the sight before him made his pupils constrict.

"How did the Border Area become like this?"

As far as the eye could see, heaven and earth were left in a silent and vast pure white.

Ice spread for miles, and all things withered.

If not for his clear memory of awakening from the iconic Red Maple Forest in the Red Maple Valley, he would almost believe he was now deep within the distant Eternal Frost Tundra.

The Border Area was not no stranger to snow.

But the fierce cold, as if to freeze the entire world completely, was a first for Galos to behold.

He temporarily suppressed the questions in his heart and accelerated his flight.

Soon after.

The familiar outline of the valley, embraced by towering rock walls, finally emerged from the snowstorm all around.

Unlike the external scene of icy apocalypse.

The Dragon Valley, with its unique terrain structure, had towering rock walls acting as natural barriers, blocking most of the savage wind and snow.

Though a few snowflakes still fell within the valley and the ground was covered with a layer of snow not too thick, the temperature was much warmer than outside. Overall, it presented a tranquil scene, as if with the advent of early winter, some hardy deep green vegetation still stubbornly survived, the lake, not yet frozen solid, burbled beneath a thin layer of ice.

The situation was far better than Galos had anticipated.

Atop the valley, the Burning Steel Castle still stood majestically.

With meticulous maintenance and repair by the Followers over the years, the grand castle remained as upright as ever, like a silent Steel Giant, bathing quietly in the storm of snow, overlooking the valley disdainfully.

When Galos’s figure appeared on the horizon.

In the valley below, the busy or vigilant Followers raised their heads.

Countless gazes filled with awe and surprise focused entirely on the Red Iron Dragon amidst the storm of snow.

"Roar—!"

"It’s the Leader! It’s Lord Galos!"

"The King! Our King has returned!"

After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and roars erupted like a volcano.

Under countless gazes, Galos circled the sky slightly, as if inspecting the territory he had long been separated from. Then he folded his wings and steadily landed on the highest watchtower of the castle.

"Citizens of the Molten Iron Tribe!"

A roar like rolling thunder was the first to ring out.

The Bear Leader Möbel, so excited it trembled all over, the fur on its body shaking, was the first to raise its arm high and then without hesitation, it prostrated deeply on the ground!

"Celebrate! Cheer!"

"Our King—Lord Galos! Has returned!!!"

Like a lit fuse.

Throughout the castle, inside and outside the valley, all the Followers who witnessed this scene stopped their actions, with the deepest reverence and joy, bowed uniformly in the direction of the high castle platform, like waves of wheat in the wind, kneeling in unison!

A dense, dark mass, extending all the way to the edge of the valley.

"Relay the order, open the barns! All Followers of the Molten Iron Tribe, prepare for a grand feast tonight, celebrate with me."

Successfully passing through the long hibernation was already a matter worthy of grand celebration, moreover, the extent of evolution this time far exceeded expectations. Galos immediately decided to hold a banquet and revel, to announce his return to the entire tribe and rejuvenate their spirits.

After handing over the specific arrangements of the banquet preparation to the Servant Leader,

He used bloodline connection to inform all Steel Dragons and Red Dragons distributed in different places about his awakening and the banquet, instructing them to gather other Dragon Races.

Then, Galos first went to the treasury inside the castle, used some high-energy reserves, and then selected a spacious and bright place within the valley, ordering the Followers to bring various types of food continually.

Unable to wait for the official start of the banquet, he decided to eat in advance to fulfill the Dragon Jade’s demand.

Magic Gemstones, ingots of precious metals, fresh blood food, Concentrated Black Oil... all these materials rich in energy or nutrition were devoured by Galos continuously.

His digestive system operated efficiently, rapidly absorbing nutritional components and energy, while the waste produced by metabolism was expelled and collected by dedicated Followers for other uses.